Changes at the top – but foundational values remain

Partners in Hope Medical Centre (PIH) in Lilongwe has undergone some major changes in its Executive Leadership team in recent months, but the values which underpin the organisaton remain firmly in place, as Medical Director, Dr Barrett Jones, explained

Qualityof medical and back-up services, Equityso that service is available to all, no matter their situation, and Sustainabilityin development are the qualities which have been central to the work of Partners in Hope Medical Centre in Lilongwe for a little over ten years since it opened at its current location, a former derelict warehouse.

Maintaining these values has, recently, fallen to a new group of senior leaders, who all took over their new posts within a three- to four-month period following the return to the USA of the Founder and Executive Director of Partners in Hope, Dr Perry Jansen.

New Executive Team

The three new leaders are Executive Director Dr Dan Namarika, who is responsible for the overall running of the PIH organisation in its widest sense, Medical Director Dr Barrett Jones, who is responsible for the running and development of the PIH Medical Centre itself, and Director of Programmes Alan Schooley, who is responsible for, amongst other things, administering the large grant which the organisation has received from USAID to help fund its work and development plans. A new Director of Operations is also to be recruited.

“It is a massive change for all of us, but we are able to continue to build on good foundations which have been laid over the ten or so years,” said Barrett Jones.

PIH Executive Director Dr Dan Namarika and Dr Barrett Jones

Not on the horizon

“Certainly, when I arrived at Partners in 2014, being Medical Director was nowhere on my horizon! When Perry announced he was going back to the USA he asked me to consider the new role.

“So I prayed about it and accepted it for two main reasons. One was the opportunity to work with the new Executive Director whom I consider to be a great physician and a great man of God, and secondly I could see an opportunity to use this new role as a way of strengthening our spiritual ministry to both staff and patients, so that we are treating more than just disease.”

Founded in 2004, by SIM missionary Perry Jansen, and a group of individuals committed to making a difference in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Malawi, Partners in Hope’s Mission Statement at the time was: “To have a significant impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Malawi and in the lives of individuals infected and effected by HIV in a way which brings glory to God and demonstrates Christ’s love in word and deed”.

This has certainly been true and although a large part of its work remains focused on clinical care given to HIV/AIDS patients, PIH is growing towards becoming a full-service, non-profit teaching hospital.

New Vision Statement

A revised mission statement was adopted in 2014:- As a Christ-centered institution, our mission is to strengthen the capacity of Malawi’s healthcare system to deliver quality, equitable and sustainable health services by establishing a modern hospital, engaging in medical education, research and building the capacity of others.”

The re-ordered Reception Area of PIH Medical Centre

Clinics, ward and outreach

PIH operates two clinics: Dalitso and Moyo. There is also a hospital ward, Thandizo, and a community outreach program called Tigwirane Manja (which means Let’s Hold Hands or Let’s work together).

The private Dalitso (‘Blessing’) Clinic serves the HIV/AIDS-treatment needs of private sector patients through a fee-based clinic that includes non-HIV as well as HIV-related services within one facility.

The Moyo (‘Life’) Clinic, is a heavily subsidized HIV specialty clinic for the poor, with profits from Dalitso Clinic helping to fund its activities. The Moyo Clinic also still receives support from the Malawi Government.

In February of 2010, PIH opened its first in-patient ward, the Thandizo (‘Helping’) Clinic, that cares for the sickest of the sick in both the private and free clinics.

In addition to the three clinics, PIH also offers laboratory services which are among the best in Malawi and, in early 2011, PIH became a nationally recognised centre for Tb treatment.

Not wanting to rest on PIH’s considerable laurels, the new Executive Leadership team is looking to develop what is already in place at PIH and to enhance and build new facilities which will not just benefit PIH, but also the medical sector of Malawi as a whole.

Training Centre of Excellence

“One of the things we are looking at is developing the Moyo HIV/AIDS Clinic into a Training Centre of Excellence for helping the training of doctors, clinical officers, nurses, counsellors in how to handle people suffering from this disease,” said Barrett Jones.

“I can see the benefit of this from a personal perspective because my training in the USA was in children and family medicine. All my training and experience of working with people suffering with HIV/AIDS has been on the job here at PIH. So, if we can offer training to doctors in this area it will have a major impact on how the disease can be treated.

“We are also looking to develop a surgical-theatre facility. Many people in Malawi will travel to South Africa, or Europe or India for surgical procedures, at great expense. We hope to be able to attract those healthcare dollars by offering a first-class option for those procedures, and also helping to raise funds for other developments.

Prayer Points

Please pray for

1. The new Leadership Team, as they settle into their roles and look to take PIH forward

2. Opportunities for spiritual growth and discipleship of staff, and sharing the Gospel with patients

3. Opportunities to expand resources; especially that God will direct more medical missionaries to PIH so it can expand its care of the community it serves

“There is also a great need in Malawi in general, and Lilongwe in particular, for good-quality gynaecology and obstetrics facilities, and we are looking to develop a maternity unit which will include a delivery suite and back-up wards which again, we believe, will help reduce the pressure on government hospitals.

“All of these developments are aimed at bringing about our long-term goal of making Partners in Hope Medical Centre a full-service hospital. There are existing government hospitals in the area but they are overstretched, and we see that by developing such a facility here it will help to reduces that pressure.”

PIH may have a new senior leadership, but already they are proving that they are starting to work well as a team and have very clear goals for how they want to see Partners in Hope Medical Centre move forward.